By nature, projects bring about change to an organisation. They typically take an organisation from a current state, to a future state. Therefore, it’s fair to say that good project managers need to be effective change managers too.
Managing change essentially involves managing people, their expectations, and supporting them through the change. It’s a journey, and they need a guide, and someone to coach them through the pain caused by the change.
There are a number of models that can be used to demonstrate the phases to reacting to change – Claes Janssens model for Reactions to Change is one of them;
- Comfort Zone (I’m comfortable with things as they are, even though things may not be perfect, at least I understand things)
- Denial (the change is not going to really happen!)
- Confusion (what does this change mean to me?)
- Renewal (I’m onboard with the change, and I see it benefits and can manage the pain)
Our personality can determine how long we spend in each mode. Let’s look at the different ways people approach or deal with change;
Conceptual Approach
Key Characteristics;
- Brainstormers
- Good at strategizing
- Good at seeing the master plan
- Big picture people
- Prefer to focus on the future
- Easily develop theories, principles, ideas
Spontaneous Approach
Key Characteristics;
- Desire freedom from constraint
- Move from one subject to another quite quickly
- Can focus on many things simultaneously
- Desire respect & influence within the organisation
- Act on their feelings
Normative Approach
Key Characteristics;
- Prefer to put ideas into a familiar context (relate new ideas to old ones that are familiar)
- Rely on past experiences to guide them
- Forward thinking people
- Like to see/understand the consequences before they act
- Usually like others to take the lead
- Usually fantastic teammates & work well with others
- May not be the senior leaders, however are important team members
Methodical Approach
Key Characteristics;
- Prefer order and rationality
- Rules people
- Desire to follow an understood step-by-step process
- Cautious
- Like to think things through before they act
- Like to focus on what can be proven to be true
- Want to see the pieces of the puzzle fit together
The unique approaches outlined above can lead to the following Project Roles;
Creators – often initiate projects, ideas people. Move from one idea to the next easily
Advancers – generate some ideas, but are mostly responsible for team motivation
Refiners – detail people – are often incorrectly perceived to be nay-sayers
Executors – where the rubber hits the road. They do the work.
Project Managers – need to be able to serve all the roles effectively (essentially act as gap fillers)
If you’d like to know more about our services & how to effectively manage change in your organisation, please book your free consultation today via our Contact Us page!